Photo/Mitch Evans (YouTube)
Mitch Evans has finished well down the grid in the second round of the latest Formula E championship in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
In an incident-packed race, the Auckland-born driver found himself involved in a crash that took out Englishman Sam Bird, who had won the previous race.
What a race! Highlights from the 2019 SAUDIA #DiriyahEPrix. Which driver impressed you most? pic.twitter.com/WywYikw66E
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) November 23, 2019
It’s only his second ever @FIAFormulaE race but @CaladoJames proved his ability at the #DiriyahEPrix today finishing P7 and gaining 6 points! After a good Qualifying @MitchEvans_ was set for a top 5 result, but a collision and penalty meant he took the chequered flag in P18. pic.twitter.com/gRfXQboSXz
— Jaguar TCS Racing (@JaguarRacing) November 23, 2019
Evans received a lap penalty that dropped him down the field, after which he struggled to regain any sort of position and eventually finished 18th in the 24 car field.
There was better news for his Jaguar teammate James Caldo, who finished seventh. Fellow Kiwi, Brendan Hartley, who was competing in only his second race in Formula E, made up for his disappointing debut with a ninth-place finish in his GeoX Dragon car.
Evans did not agree that he had caused the accident that sent Bird out of the race, saying:
Post #DiriyahEPrix Round 2 thoughts from @MitchEvans_:
— Jaguar TCS Racing (@JaguarRacing) November 23, 2019
"When you get pushed into the wall, what can you do. It's disappointing but one to forget."#JaguarElectrifies #ABBFormulaE pic.twitter.com/Pu6f7bxrDN
“Personally, I don’t think he gave me any room. I wasn’t going to back out of it, I thought I was up far enough…I can’t just disappear and I’m not going to back out of it, Evans said.
“It was disappointing, one to forget.”
The series now takes a break over the Christmas period and returns to action in Santiago, Chile on January 18. There are 14 rounds around the world in the championship that runs until July next year.
